Thursday, June 11, 2026

New Hercule Poirot Series featuring the young Hercule Poirot


Edward Bluemel has been cast as the youngest Hercule Poirot for a new series starting in 2027. The BBC shared that it plans to run for three seasons, with the first season slated for release in 2027 with six episodes.  

The iconic detective, who once described himself as "the greatest detective in the world" in Agatha Christie's The Mystery of the Blue Train, will get its youngest iteration, with the BBC making it clear that the younger generation is who to turn to for successful TV shows. The  new series will follow Poirot's earlier years. The idea is that it will be "an intimate study of Hercule," looking at the character's growth between the wars. With the time period, it means we're getting a look at the sleuth before he became the well-known detective everyone turned to for help with solving crimes. 

There have been many great actors in this role before Bluemel, with David Suchet being the man everyone immediately thinks of. Suchet took on the role in 1989 and continued for 24 seasons across a total of 70 episodes. Most recently, Kenneth Branagh has played the iconic character, and before him, Peter Ustinov played the role for the 1978 movie Death on the Nile and the 1982 release Death Under the Sun. David Suchet played the Belgian detective for nearly 25 years in the ITV series; Kenneth Branagh, Albert Finney, and Peter Ustinov, among others, have also played Poirot. 

Whether the new series asks Bluemel to adopt Poirot’s appearance —  waxed moustaches and a fastidious sense of fashion — remains to be seen. 

BritBox and the BBC have titled the new production 'Hercule'. The new six-part series will follow the the young Hercule Porot as he solves his first-ever cases before becoming the world’s most iconic sleuth. Filming begins this summer with a 2027 air date. 

Friday, June 5, 2026

PRINT EDITION NOW AVAILABLE: Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries- Mystery Readers Journal

Mystery Readers Journal: Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries (42:1) is now available in print. 

Purchase the Print Edition here.

This issue is also available as a PDF. 

Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries

Volume 42, No. 1, Spring 2026

Fairs, Fetes and Festivals cover

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLES

  • May Day, Maypoles, and Morris Dancing Mysteries (and a Recipe for Maypole Chocolate Cake) by Janet Rudolph
  • The Fête of Mortals—The Trigger for Crime by Alan Cassady-Bishop
  • Graham Greene: The Man for a White Elephant Stall by Moira Redmond
AUTHOR! AUTHOR!
  • Murder Can’t Stop de Carnival—or Writing About It! by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier
  • Spectacles, Sangria, and Selkies by Rowan Dillon
  • Celebrating Crime on the Page, with the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries by Leslie Budewitz
  • There is Nothing Better Than a Fair or Festival by Nancy Coco
  • Searching for Carnevale by Yves Fey
  • Faire at a Fire Station Sparks a Mystery Plot by Nancy Lynn Jarvis
  • Summer Festivals Are Hot in a Wintry City by Janice MacDonald
  • Why I Set My Murder Mystery at an English Literary Festival by Mark McCrumb
  • World’s Fairs as Bookends to a Mystery Series by Frances McNamara
  • Asian Festivals & Fairs by Larry and Rosemary Mild
  • Murder Under the Bunting: Festivals as Crime Scenes by Neil S. Plakcy
  • Round and Round: Why We Can’t Resist a Carousel by Bernard O’Keefe
  • Murder Midst the Bunting by Ann Sutton
  • Mardi Gras State of Mind by Martha Reed
  • Come Taste My Wine: The Balmetto Festival in Borgofranco d’Ivrea by D.R. Ransdell
  • What’s Fair About It? by Nancy Wikarski
  • Comic Cons Make Murder Mysteries More Fun! by Melissa Westemeier
COLUMNS
  • Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by Lesa Holstine and Aubrey Nye Hamilton
  • Children’s Hour: Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries by Gay Toltl Kinman
  • Real Crime at Fêtes and Festivals by Cathy Pickens
  • From the Editor’s Desk by Janet Rudolph
***

Going to a State Fair this summer? Will you be in D.C?  Don't miss the State Fairs: Growing American Craft at the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian. Through September 7.